Scottish Executive

Biodiversity

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is providing, or will provide, to current conservation, education and research programmes of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland which assist Scotland and the United Kingdom to meet obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Allan Wilson: No support for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland for conservation, education or research programmes to meet obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity is either in process or intended by the Scottish Executive.

Bursaries

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer by Rhona Brankin to my supplementary question to S1O-2259 on 20 September 2000 and the answer to question S1W-11344 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 18 December 2000, when it intends to discuss with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities the impact of the non-payment of discretionary bursaries by some local authorities and any implications of this for the implementation of the National Cultural Strategy.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The Executive corresponded on this subject with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) in December last year. The payment of discretionary bursaries remains a matter for each local authority. Although COSLA offered to re-issue its existing guidance on discretionary bursaries, it did not propose to strengthen it and explained that the approach to discretionary bursaries by individual councils would reflect the many competing demands being faced by them.

Cancer

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take in response to the study by the National Radiological Protection Board linking high-voltage electricity pylons with childhood leukaemia.

Susan Deacon: I refer the member to the answer I gave to question S1O-3093 on 15 March 2001.

Common Services Agency

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactive disorder are currently being prescribed Ritalin, broken down by (a) age, (b) gender and (c) health board area.

Susan Deacon: This information is not held centrally.

Common Services Agency

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any computer virus problems in the Common Services Agency and, if so, how it will ensure accurate payments to health professionals.

Susan Deacon: The Common Services Agency (CSA) has no current computer virus problems. The CSA’s networks are fully protected by high quality firewalls and individual systems have additional virus checking software installed. All virus checking software is regularly updated.

  These procedures are designed to ensure that all systems including those calculating payments to health professionals are secure.

Community Care

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what policies it has in place to ensure that the rights of carers and families are upheld when those they care for are being discharged from hospital.

Malcolm Chisholm: The NHS in Scotland is required to provide patients being discharged with prescribed standards of information about treatment and follow-up arrangements. Guidance to NHS Trusts on these standards also allows this information to be given to relatives, carers and GPs, where appropriate.

Community Care

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dementia sufferers there currently are in the Highlands of Scotland; how many it estimates there will be by 2006; whether there is an ongoing shortage in the region of nursing homes which are able to provide appropriate nursing care for such sufferers, and what action it intends to take in relation to any such shortage.

Malcolm Chisholm: Patients diagnosed with dementia will be treated in a variety of NHS locations depending on the severity of the condition. Many will be seen in general practice while others will be admitted to hospital or nursing home care. At present, it is not possible to estimate the current number of suffers in Highland Health Board area, or the number in 2006.

Cycling

Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10121 by Sarah Boyack on 20 October 2000, whether it intends to introduce measures to ensure that cycle training is available to every primary school pupil.

Sarah Boyack: The provision of cycle training for children is a matter for schools and for police and local authority road safety units.

  The Scottish Executive has recently commissioned a survey of cycle training provision in Scottish schools and the number of children trained. This will provide baseline information on cycle training in Scottish schools and will highlight areas with low levels of training provision.

Cycling

Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10121 by Sarah Boyack on 20 October 2000, whether it intends to ensure that cycle training for school pupils includes an appropriate level of supervised on-road training, with due authorisation from parents.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Cycle Training Scheme, overseen by the Scottish Road Safety Campaign, recommends that on-road training should be provided where possible. Police and local authority Road Safety Units are responsible for carrying out risk assessment on any roads to be used for on-road training and for decisions on whether it is appropriate to conduct on-road training in any particular case. A new resource pack for Road Safety Officers to use when training volunteer trainers, developed by the campaign, will be issued to Road Safety Units in March. It will recommend that parental consent should be obtained before any cycle training for school pupils is undertaken.

Education

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions have been brought since May 2000 against parents whose children were absent from school without authorisation, how many such prosecutions were successful and what sentences have been imposed by the courts after any such convictions.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information requested is not available from the information held centrally. The statistical data held by Scottish Executive Justice Department (SEJD) on the outcome of court proceedings are based on information provided by police records offices. Prosecutions for Education Act offences are now generally taken by the local authority rather than the Procurator Fiscal.

Education

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered the five recommendations in the report of the Deferrals Working Group, presented to the Deputy Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs on 10 November 2000.

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to act upon the recommendations in the report of the Deferrals Working Group and, if so, whether new arrangements will come into force at the beginning of the 2001-02 school year as proposed in the report.

Nicol Stephen: I am currently consulting COSLA on the recommendations of the working group (including the resource implications and the implementation timetable). This process should be completed by the end of March and I will make a full response as soon as possible after this.

Electricity

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it plans to make to Scottish Power arising from the recent failure to maintain power supplies in the Scottish Borders area due to adverse weather conditions.

Ms Wendy Alexander: None. Throughout the emergency, Scottish Power kept ministers fully informed about its strenuous efforts to reconnect customers who had lost power as a result of the recent appalling weather conditions which caused such severe damage to the electricity network in the Borders. The company has announced its intention to deal sympathetically with compensation claims from customers who were badly affected.

Electricity

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what emergency powers it has and which of these it invoked in the recent power cuts in the Scottish Borders area due to adverse weather conditions.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Throughout the emergency, the Executive worked closely with agencies such as Lothians and Borders Police, the Scottish Borders Council emergency planning team and Scottish Power in the areas worst affected to restore power as soon as possible. We will consider carefully the lessons and whether we need to conduct a review of the arrangements used. Responses to emergencies of this type are led locally.

Electricity

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take arising from the recent failure to maintain power supplies in the Scottish Borders area due to adverse weather conditions.

Ms Wendy Alexander: As is standard in the aftermath of any such event, emergency plans will be reviewed to discover if there are any lessons to be learned.

Electricity

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to look at the emergency planning procedures used in other European countries and, in particular, the procedures used in Scandinavian countries in relation to maintaining power supplies during adverse weather conditions.

Iain Gray: Emergency planning across Europe and elsewhere reflects the particular threats, risks, hazards and possibility of occurrence relative to the country in question. We already have excellent emergency planning liaison with our European neighbours, including Sweden in particular, exchanging experience and expertise with them.

  Ownership of the electricity grid in Scotland lies in the hands of the electricity companies. Consideration of the procedures adopted in other countries for maintaining power supplies in adverse weather is clearly a matter for these utilities.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with representatives of the haulage industry regarding compensation or other forms of financial support in connection with the loss of income resulting from restrictions on the movement of livestock caused by the current outbreak of foot-and mouth-disease.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has had discussions with the Road Haulage Association. The situation for hauliers will have eased somewhat as a result of the licensing scheme for slaughter which came into effect on 2 March. This licence permits the movement of animals direct from the farm to approved slaughterhouses under strict controls.

  I have commissioned work to assess the immediate economic consequences of foot-and-mouth disease to allow me to consider the most effective way of helping rural areas and businesses.

Health

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS patients had their operations cancelled for non-medical reasons on the day of admission in each of the last five years.

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many operations were cancelled before the day of admission in each of the last five years and how many of these were cancelled because the patient’s medical condition stopped the operation going ahead.

Susan Deacon: Information on the number of operations cancelled by NHSScotland is not available centrally. Details of cancellations of planned admissions to hospitals are collected centrally and published annually in Scottish Health Statistics,  which is available on the internet and in the Parliaments Reference Centre.   The latest edition   is Bib. no. 6937.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any evidence of the Common Services Agency overpaying or underpaying dentists, opticians, doctors and pharmacists.

Susan Deacon: In making payments to over 8,000 primary care contractors each month it is inevitable that occasional errors or estimates will result in over or underpayments. Normally such items are corrected immediately following payment. Other than this there is no evidence of over or underpayments for opticians or doctors.

  For dentists, the recently introduced Commitment Payment is currently calculated on an estimated basis and as a result of this a number of dentists may have been temporarily over or underpaid by a small amount. Commitment payments comprise less than 2% of total payments to dentists.

  For pharmacists, delays resulting from the commissioning of the new computer system mean that all contractors are paid estimates, which will be more or less than the correct payment. However, all over or underpayments are currently being corrected within three months.

Health Promotion

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, following the publication by the Health Education Board for Scotland and Glasgow Healthy City Partnership of Understanding the Policy Maze – A guide to Social and Health Policy in Scotland, it will set out comprehensively its own strategies and guidelines in these areas.

Malcolm Chisholm: Understanding the Policy Maze  itself   gives a useful overview of the field. More recent Executive policy documents are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Historic Buildings

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to intervene to prevent the demolition of the William Chalmers Burns Memorial Hall in Kilsyth, in view of his historical significance as the first British missionary to China.

Allan Wilson: I have asked Graeme Munro, Chief Executive of Historic Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

  I understand that a building warrant has been granted for the demolition of the Burns Memorial Hall, Kilsyth. The hall, which is owned by North Lanarkshire Council, is not a listed building and lies outside the town’s conservation area. Historic Scotland has no locus to intervene but officials from Historic Scotland are in informal contact with council officials about the future of the building.

Hospitals

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the recommended bed occupancy level is for hospitals and what the average bed occupancy level currently is.

Susan Deacon: There is no recommended bed occupancy level for NHSScotland. It is for health boards, working with NHS Trusts and other partners, to determine the number of hospital beds required to meet assessed need in their respective areas, taking account of local circumstances.

  Detailed information on bed occupancy rates, by specialty, is published in Scottish Health Statistics. The latest edition, which was published on 14 February, is available on the internet at

  http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/isd/Scottish_Health_Statistics/SHS2000/M4.pdf.

Hospitals

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any relationship between a high hospital bed occupancy level and the risk of cancelling elective admissions.

Susan Deacon: Bed occupancy and the cancellation of elective admissions are both influenced by factors which are not necessarily related. For example, there are a number of reasons why elective admissions may be cancelled, such as the illness of key members of staff.

  It is for health boards, working with NHS Trusts and other partners, to determine the number of hospital beds required to meet assessed need in their respective areas, taking account of local circumstances.

Housing

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-13110 by Jackie Baillie on 6 March 2001, whether it will, prior to the Stage 1 debate on the Housing (Scotland) Bill, expand upon its definition of "affordable housing options".

Jackie Baillie: "Affordable housing options" are properties which are available, for rent or for purchase, at reasonable cost within the context of the overall resources available to the household.

Justice

Mrs Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve and extend the provision of advice, information and advocacy services.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have set up a working group, involving a wide range of interested organisations, to develop proposals for a community legal service to provide a user-friendly network of high-quality legal information, advice and assistance on legal problems right across Scotland. That group will report to me in October.

Learning Disabilities

Mr Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has commissioned any research into the abuse of adults with learning difficulties.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has not commissioned research specifically into the abuse of adults with learning difficulties. As part of the review of services for people with learning disabilities, The same as you? , the Scottish Executive carried out the following research which includes reference to types of abuse:

  If you don’t ask you don’t get, a survey of people with learning disabilities and their families about social and healthcare services. A copy is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. no. 2300)

  Changing Public Attitudes to People with Learning Disabilities in Scotland, a report on public attitudes towards people with a learning disability, comprising a review of literature, an opinion poll, a round table discussion and a policy paper. These papers are available on the internet at:

  www.scotland.gov.uk/ldsr/progress.htm.

Library Facilities

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in the light of a recent instance when a child came across unsuitable material on a computer in a Glasgow library, it will ask local authorities to check that internet access in all public libraries is permanently screened to prevent access to pornographic, racist or other offensive material and, in particular, that such systems as do exist are fully utilised until any new systems being developed are fully installed.

Allan Wilson: The responsibility for public libraries in Scotland lies with local authorities and it is for Glasgow City Council to consider the action required. If the proper safeguards are in place e.g. filtering, then the incidents should be minimal. Public libraries are being asked under the People’s Network Implementation to demonstrate how such issues are to be tackled.

Ministerial Correspondence

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Health and Community Care will reply to letters from Tayside Health Council dated 4 July 2000, 20 July 2000, 24 August 2000, 1 September 2000, 4 October 2000, 31 October 2000 and 23 January 2001.

Susan Deacon: Following a number of personal discussions with representatives of Tayside Health Council, a written response has now been sent to both Mrs Barclay and Mrs Woore.

NHS Services

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the final report of the Tayside Task Force.

Susan Deacon: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-11574 on 5 March 2001.

NHS Waiting Times

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest average waiting times are to see a podiatrist, broken down by each NHS Trust.

Susan Deacon: The treatment of patients by a podiatrist is generally undertaken in a primary care setting by the Community Chiropody Service or sessions at NHS hospitals, clinics or other NHS facilities staffed by Professions Allied to Medicine. Information on waiting times for services provided by the Community Chiropody Service or by Professions Allied to Medicine is not collected centrally.

Planning

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what auditing has been carried out of the use by local authorities of section 75 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 or former section 50 agreements; whether any evidence has been found either of local authorities seeking benefits unrelated in nature, scale or kind to proposed developments or of developers offering unrelated benefits or inducements to obtain favourable decisions and whether any such evidence would require the development of notification procedures for the proposed use of section 75 agreements.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The most recent analysis of information held by the Executive relating to section 75 agreements was published in the Report of the Targets Working Group  in October 1999. A copy of the report is available in the Parliaments Reference Centre.

  The Executive commissioned research into The Use and Effectiveness of Planning Agreements in July 2000. Output from this research should be available within the next few months.

  The Executive has no present evidence of inappropriate use of such agreements.

Police

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any police forces in Scotland are currently understaffed; if so, how many officers of each rank any such forces are short of, and how long each such force has been understaffed.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information sought is not held centrally. From 1 April 1996 the controls previously exercised by ministers over police force numbers were removed. Since then it has been entirely for chief constables in consultation with police authorities to decide on staffing levels within the resources available to them. As a result of sustained increases in police funding, police numbers are expected to reach record levels by 2002.

Renewable Energy

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £100 million for the support of renewable energy technologies announced by the Prime Minister on 6 March 2001 it will receive through the Barnett Formula.

Angus MacKay: The allocation of the £100 million for renewable energy announced by the Prime Minister has yet to be decided, and will be the subject of a report due in the autumn from the UK Government’s Performance and Innovation Unit. We will stay in close touch with HM Treasury and the Department of Trade and Industry on this issue.

Roads

Mr John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what obligations the new trunk road contractors will have to clear access along trunk roads for local authority direct labour organisation snow clearing equipment.

Sarah Boyack: The new operating companies must consider and consult with the emergency services and other interested parties on the arrangements for winter maintenance operations at the boundaries of the unit with other road authorities and other operating companies. The companies shall set out their procedures in the Winter Maintenance plan. The Winter Maintenance plan must be submitted to the Scottish Executive for approval and copies provided to the emergency services and adjacent road authorities.

Roads

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what difference de-trunking the A7 and A68 has made to snow clearing operations.

Sarah Boyack: The A7 in Scotland north of Galashiels was de-trunked in 1996. The A7 south of Galashiels and the A68 have not been detrunked.

  Trunk roads are given priority for winter maintenance treatment. The de-trunked section of the A7 may therefore be expected to receive slightly lower priority than the trunked section.

Roads

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what emergency powers it had and which of these it invoked with regard to reopening the A7 and A68 which were closed for four days due to snow blockage.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive does not need emergency powers to reopen roads previously closed by snow blockages. Roads are reopened in consultation with the police when it is considered safe to do so.

Royal Zoological Society

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to provide financial aid to the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland to enable it to continue to fulfil its national conservation, education, research and economic roles at Edinburgh Zoo and the Highland Wildlife Park following their closure due to the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

Ross Finnie: I announced on 8 March that work would begin to assess the wider element impacts arising from the present foot-and-mouth disease outbreak. The priority is to assess the immediate implications and I expect an initial assessment to be available in the near future. It is too early, therefore, to reach any decision on compensation in individual cases.

Royal Zoological Society

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland sustains directly and indirectly and how much money it generates for the local economy through Edinburgh Zoo and the Highland Wildlife Park.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Data on the employment and turnover of companies and institutions are held by the Inter-Departmental Business Register, to which the Scottish Executive has access. However, the Executive is not able to publish individual record data.

Royal Zoological Society

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it can provide to the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland to safeguard the Scottish National Zoological Collection during the current foot-and-mouth disease outbreak and beyond.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has provided authoritative veterinary advice on foot-and-mouth disease through its website and a link to the MAFF website. Specific advice where required can also be provided to bodies such as the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland on request.

Schools

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the revised guidelines for Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Schools came into use, how widely these have been published, and who it consulted regarding the new section on school libraries.

Mr Jack McConnell: Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Schools (HMI) inspection guidelines are reviewed annually. The most recent version has been in use since August 2000. Summaries of HMI inspection guidelines, referred to as National Briefing Documents, are available on the HMI website, and are issued to schools together with the notification of inspection. Detailed inspection guidelines for Inspectors include guidance on how library provision will be evaluated. This guidance draws on comments made by school librarians during inspection, and on the national document Taking a Closer Look at The School Library Resource Centre published in 1999 by the Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum. HMI hold regular liaison meetings with key interested bodies to discuss inspection related matters, and allow issues of concern to be raised.

Skye Bridge

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12112 by Sarah Boyack on 18 January 2001, whether the assignation to Skye Bridge Limited (SBL) of the right to collect tolls on the Skye Bridge and the operation of the bridge by Miller Dywidag on SBL’s behalf means that Miller Civil Engineering is authorised to charge tolls on the A87.

Sarah Boyack: Miller Civil Engineering Ltd does not have the authority to charge tolls on the A87 in its own right. As I made clear in my answers to S1W-10325 on 5 December and S1W-12112 on 18 January, the right to collect tolls has been assigned to Skye Bridge Limited (SBL) while the operation of the bridge is carried out on SBL’s behalf by the joint venture Miller Dywidag.

Sport

Mr John Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to  sportscotland regarding levels of funding for shinty.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The Scottish Executive has had a series of discussions with  sportscotland about levels of funding for shinty.

Telecommunications

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police stations have mobile phone masts attached to the building, broken down by police force.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information requested is shown in the following table.

  


Force 
  

Number of Stations with Mobile Phone Masts 
  Attached to the Building 
  



Central Scotland Police 
  

0 
  



Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary 
  

1 
  



Fife Constabulary 
  

0 
  



Grampian Police 
  

4 
  



Lothian and Borders Police 
  

0 
  



Northern Constabulary 
  

0 
  



Strathclyde Police 
  

1 
  



Tayside Police 
  

0

Vaccines

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current availability of the BCG vaccination is in health board areas and whether the targets of the Scottish Executive on availability are being met.

Malcolm Chisholm: BCG vaccines, as with all childhood vaccines, are distributed through a control facility in Cumbernauld to 18 holding centres (normally located in hospital pharmacy departments) across Scotland. Vaccines are then distributed to hospitals and community health providers on request.

  Health boards are responsible for ensuring that they have sufficient supplies of vaccine for high-risk groups in their areas.

Waste Management

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it, or any other body, has conducted any research into the environmental impact of the application by West of Scotland Water Authority to release sewerage effluent into the River Clyde and, if so, what the results were of this research and which bodies or experts were consulted.

Allan Wilson: Under the terms of the Control of Pollution Act 1974, the West of Scotland Water Authority must obtain a consent from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency for each individual discharge it makes to the River Clyde. The agency issues consents subject to conditions to protect the environment which are set individually for each discharge, on the basis of local circumstances. The agency and the water authority are co-operating to ensure that the great improvements to the water quality of the River Clyde, which have been observed year-on-year since the 1970s, continue.

  The issue of consents and the setting of relevant conditions, together with the scientific work undertaken to establish those conditions, is a matter for the agency.

Water Authorities

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the announcement by the Minister for Environment, Sport and Culture on 28 February 2001 regarding the future structure of the water industry, whether it anticipates any delays in the procurement of any construction work planned by the water authorities as a result of these proposed changes and what steps it is taking to avert or minimise any such anticipated delays.

Allan Wilson: No delays are anticipated.

Water Authorities

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what construction projects with a value of over £1 million are currently expected to be procured by the three water authorities over the next nine months.

Allan Wilson: I have asked the water authorities to provide a list of those construction contracts in excess of £1 million they expect to award in the next nine months. These are as follows:

  North of Scotland Water Authority

  Achiltibuie Water Supply

  Cromarty Wastewater Treatment Plant

  Munlochy Wastewater Treatment Plant

  Stemster, Dunn, Haster, Reiss – new trunk main

  Lochaber Mains Renewals

  East Coast Mains Renewals

  Balrobert to Oldtown Mains Renewal

  Lochcarron Wastewater Treatment Plant

  Inverness Sewer Rehabilitation

  40" Mains Lintrathen to Clatto

  Tayside Area Mains Renewals

  Dundee (Clatto) Water Treatment Works

  Kirkwall Wastewater secondary treatment

  Keith Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade & Newmill Wastewater Treatment Plant

  Cruden Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant & Combined Sewer Overflow

  Grampian Mains Renewal Programme - 00/01 + 01/02

  Grampian Combined Sewer Overflow Programme

  Water Quality Improvements – Distribution Systems

  Stornoway Water Treatment Works & Distribution

  Forehill Water Treatment Works & Distribution

  Mainland Augmentation – Boardhouse Ph 3

  Invercannie Water Treatment Works & Distribution

  Turriff Water Treatment Works & Distribution

  North Coast Regional Scheme

  West of Scotland Water Authority

  Glasgow – Acre Road Sewer

  Meadowhead – Gailes Storm Water Outfall Sewer

  Maidens Kirkoswald Turnberry Sewerage Scheme

  Milton, Bowling to Castlegreen (Dumbarton) Sewer

  Old Kilpatrick to Dalmuir Sewer

  Newton Stewart Wastewater Treatment Works

  Stranraer Wastewater Treatment Works

  Carradale Wastewater Treatment Facilities

  Cove and Kilcreggan Wastewater Treatment Facilities

  Inveraray Wastewater Treatment Facilities

  Kames and Tighnabruaich Wastewater Treatment Facilities

  Machrihanish Drumlemble Wastewater Treatment Facilities

  Millport Wastewater Treatment Facilities

  Cairndow Water Supply

  Taynuilt Water Supply

  Peden Water Supply

  East of Scotland Water Authority

  ESW Orthophosphate dosing

  Stirling Lovers Walk Pumping Station

  Culross Main Drainage

  Figgate Burn Drainage Upgrade

  Burntisland MDS PH 3A

  Penicuik Wastewater Treatment Works

  Penicuik/N. Borders Water Supply

  Dunfermline Trunk Sewer Duplication

  Alloa West Sewers

  Cupar Sludge Treatment Centre

Water Charges

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation took place with the charity and voluntary sectors in connection with the decision to withdraw water rates relief.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Extensive consultations with these sectors have taken place over a number of years.

  During July and August 1998, the East of Scotland Water Authority (ESWA) undertook a consultation exercise covering proposals for a new approach to charging non-domestic customers. This involved the issue of a booklet to a wide range of customers and representative bodies, including the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO). They also arranged a series of public meetings throughout the ESWA area.

  The North of Scotland Water Authority undertook a similar exercise during the same period, taking the form of a series of public meetings and circulation of a booklet to representative bodies, again including the SCVO. In February 1999, they sent almost 1,000 letters to customers who would be impacted by the withdrawal of relief.

  Additionally, the then Customers Council conducted its own research at this time.

  In January 1999, the West of Scotland Water Authority wrote to almost 2,000 customers who would be affected by the withdrawal of reliefs from water charges.

  The water authorities met jointly with the SCVO on 20 January 1999, when they detailed the reasons, timescales involved and approximate financial impacts of this decision.

  A minister from the former Scottish Office met the SCVO in April 1999 to discuss this issue, as did Sarah Boyack in July 1999. Separately, there has also been correspondence between ministers, officials and the SCVO.

  Most recently, in June of last year, the water authorities jointly consulted on a review of the policy of granting reliefs from water and wastewater charges to certain organisations. This involved the sending of individual letters and questionnaires to over 11,000 organisations as well as the representative bodies.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Holyrood Project

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer what measures will be taken to ensure that the four water features opposite the entrance to the new Parliament building at Holyrood will not be occupied by water fowl such as Canadian geese, swans and ducks which currently inhabit St Margaret’s Loch in the Queen’s Park.

Sir David Steel: The possibility of wildfowl inhabiting the "water feature" pools at the Parliament buildings’ public entrance has been anticipated by the landscape architects, and is a common problem to be overcome when designing water features. The Holyrood Progress Group has informed me that at the moment the intention is for an underwater pumping system to be installed to discourage any wildfowl from attempting to settle in the water, which will be extremely shallow. However, further advice will be taken at the appropriate time.

Holyrood Project

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer how the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will ensure that the four water features opposite the entrance to the new Parliament building at Holyrood are maintained at a clean and attractive standard and that the growth of algae and discoloration of the surrounding stonework is prevented.

Sir David Steel: The Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group has informed me that it is intended for the water contained in the "water-feature" pools, at the Parliament buildings’ public entrance, to be re-circulated on a regular basis. This process prevents water becoming stagnant and the build up of algae. Routine maintenance will also ensure that the quality of finish is maintained.

Holyrood Project

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer which glazed areas of the new Parliament building at Holyrood will use security glass able to withstand external explosions or penetration from projectiles, such as rocks or bricks.

Sir David Steel: Government guidelines exist which set out physical security requirements for the construction of certain "politically sensitive" public buildings. The guidelines include glazing specifications. The Holyrood Project Group has informed me that these have been incorporated into the design for the Parliament building complex.